The Big Four Hogwarts Book 1
by Pinkiemachine
Summary: Join Rapunzel, an eleven year old girl with a big secret. She's just discovered that she's a witch. She journeys to Hogwarts, a magic school, with the help of a boy named Eugene. While there she meets three amazing friends, but leaving her home has caused some trouble. The've faced a lot of things together at Hogwarts, but can Rapunzel save the day from her own mother?
1. Chapter 1 Rapunzel's Letter

Chapter 1

Rapunzel's Letter

Rapunzel, a small, well tempered little girl, woke from

her peaceful slumbers one golden morning. She peeked out

at the sun from under her warm blankets. She closed her eyes

once more before they fluttered open again as she remembered

that she had chores to do.

Just a few months before, Rapunzel's mother would have

been the one making breakfast and cleaning the tower that they

lived in, but ever since Rapunzel had turned eleven her mother

had started leaving on long trips with her daughter left all alone

in their big empty tower.

The first time Rapunzel had felt very big and important

having to do all the things that grown-ups do, but now, after

many weeks of this, she had become very lonely and bored.

She briskly hopped out of bed and hurried her cold feet

into a pair of slippers. They were her mother's slippers, but

Rapunzel enjoyed wearing them so much that she would sneak

them out of her mother's room when she could.

Rapunzel set to work on sweeping the floor of the living

room and them mopping it, the large wooden handles almost

slipping out of her grasp from time to time.

Rapunzel had just finished with the floors and was about

to start on washing the laundry when her mother woke up.

"Good morning, mother. Did you sleep well?" Rapunzel

asked this, but already knew the answer. By the looks of her

messy black hair and the great big bags under her half-open

eyes, Rapunzel guessed that she had not slept well at all.

"Fine, dear," her mother said absentmindedly as she

walked over to the kitchen.

Rapunzel bit her lip. She wanted to ask her mother if she

could stay home with her today so that they could play together

like they used to, but she was afraid that it wasn't the right time.

However, excitement took her by surprise and she blurted out,

"Mother? Do you suppose you could stay home today?"

Rapunzel's mother froze and looked up at her. Her eyes

still looked tired, but there was a subtle hint of panic hiding in

them too.

"No, dear," she replied finally.

"Why not?" Rapunzel whined.

"I have errands to run, food to buy, and people to see. I

just don't have time to stay home and play,"

Rapunzel's face fell. "Okay," she said quietly.

"But before I go, would you please sing for me?"

Rapunzel's face lightened a bit as she made her way over

to her small, green stool that sat right next to her mother's armchair.

She sat down just as her mother came back with a hair brush. She

sat down as well and Rapunzel began to sing while her mother

brushed her long golden hair.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your

power shine, make the clock reverse,

bring back what once was mine,"

As she sang, Rapunzel's hair began to glow a brilliant gold.

When she did this, she had the ability to heal the sick and injured.

Her mother said that she had been born with this power and that there

were greedy,selfish people out in the world who would want to take

that gift from her or use it for their own personal gain. That was why they

lived in a tower out in the middle of the woods, so that no one would ever

find Rapunzel.

When she had finished her song, Rapunzel and her mother both

stood up to say their goodbyes.

"Goodbye, dear. I love you very much," her mother said kindly.

"I love you more,"

"I love you most."

They walked over to the large windowsill that looked out across

the hidden mountain glen where their tower resided. Rapunzel

gathered her hair immensely long hair that trailed behind her and

wrapped one end of it to a large wooden hook, letting the rest of her

hair flow freely in the air outside. This was how Rapunzel's mother got

in and out of the tower. She would use her long hair like a rope and

climb up. Or in this case, be lowered down. Rapunzel supposed that

the reason her mother went on these errands now was because she was

able too now that Rapunzel's hair was just long enough.

In a short moment it seemed, all that has just been explained came

to pass and little Rapunzel was once again left alone in the cavernous

tower.

With nothing else to do, she continued with her chores. She

washed the laundry, dusted a bit, though she did it more of as a pass

time for not many things needed dusting, then she tried polishing

a few things, but ended up making more mess for her to clean up.

Once all of these tedious chores were completed, she sat down

and breathed in the warm summer air blowing in from the open

windows. It seemed like so much work for just one eleven-year-old

to do in just one morning, and yet day after day she did it without

complaint.

She scooped up the book sitting beside her on the chair side

table and began to read. She had read this book several times before,

but still found joy in reading the small, black words on the yellow-

stained paged. She really did wish she had more books to read,

but the last time she had asked for more her mother had refused.

Rapunzel just couldn't figure out why. Didn't everyone like reading?

It seemed like only a few moments before she had finished reading

the book. She sat up and looked around for something else to do.

Rapunzel went from arts and crafts to dancing, to baking, to

playing dress up. But they never kept her entertained for long.

She had just finished eating lunch and was painting in her

bedroom when she heard a rather odd sort of sound.

WHO! it sounded like.

She stood up and looked around, her

paintbrush still in mid-stroke. Had she simply imagined it?

The sound came again, this time louder.

WHO! it repeated.

Rapunzel put her paintbrush down and looked around her bedroom.

There was nothing in there that made any noise, really. So where

was it coming from?

WHO!

She looked out her bedroom door and down the stairs that lead to

the living room.

WHO WHO! it said again. It was coming from out here.

Rapunzel slowly made her way down the old wooden steps

that lead to the rest of the tower, cautiously hiding behind the support

beams of the banister all the way down.

When she reached the bottom, she peeked out from behind the

last post. There was no one in the living room that she could see, and

no one in the kitchen either.

WHO! it continued, its hollow sound bouncing off the cold stone

walls and then hitting Rapunzel's ears. She had the most unsettling

feeling that someone was watching her.

She turned her blonde head toward the window that sat not but

a few feet away and that's when she saw it. A great big owl was sitting

on the windowsill staring at her with two bulbous yellow eyes. But what

was even more astonishing was the lady sitting next to to it. She was tall,

skinny and very beautiful with short brown hair and freckles on her face.

She wore the strangest clothes that Rapunzel had ever seen. There was

an emerald green cloak that hung loosely from her shoulders, a big

pointy hat upon her head, and a pair of long, black boots. Rapunzel

stood stalk still, her hands held at her chest, willing her heart to

stop beating so wildly.

"Hello there," the lady said. "I'm Pricilla Periwinkle,"

Rapunzel had no idea how to respond to this. The only other

person she had ever known or talked to was her mother. How did

this woman even find her?

"I realize that this must be very strange for you," she went on,

"So let me explain. You are a witch,"

Rapunzel was very taken aback by this. She must have made

a face because then the lady said, "Don't worry! You're not _that_ kind

of witch. You're the good kind, like me. The kind that has magical

powers that you need to learn how to use and I know exactly the place

where you can do just that." She handed Rapunzel a small envelope

sealed with red wax and a strange letter seal.

She held it in her hands for a while occasionally turning it over.

On the front it read, 'Miss Rapunzel, Tallest Tower in the Forest,

Corona,'

"Go ahead, open it," Pricilla said kindly.

With a cautious glance at the strange lady, Rapunzel peeled

open the flap of the envelope and took out the letter inside. She

unfolded the parchment and began to read:

'Headmaster Albus Dumbledore

Order of Merlin, First Class Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump,

International Confed. of Wizards.'

Rapunzel was very confused by this, but read on.

'Dear Miss Rapunzel,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted

at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed

a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on

September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress'

Rapunzel looked up. "A-a school? For magic?" she asked.

"Like I said, you're a witch," Pricilla said simply. "Now, where are

your parents? I need to speak with them."

"Um... she's not here," Rapunzel replied shyly.

"I see," Pricilla thought for a moment. "Well when your mum

gets back, give her this," She handed Rapunzel a pamphlet of some

sort. "And here is the list of all the books and equipment you'll need

to get for school."

Rapunzel fumbled with all the paper in her hands, starring in

bewilderment at what was happening.

"But miss Periwinkle, I-" Rapunzel started but it was too late.

Pricilla had jumped down from the tower. Rapunzel dropped all

that she carried and leaned over the edge of the windowsill to see

what she was doing, scaring away the owl in the process.

She got there just in time to see Pricilla flying away on a broomstick,

the owl flying beside her.

"I'll return in two days time to show you how to get to Diagon Alley!"

she called back.

"But I'm not a witch!" Rapunzel objected.

"Your hair begs to differ!" Pricilla called.

That was true. She did have magic hair. Perhaps she had more

magic in her than she thought.

She finally decided that she would wait for her mother to come home.

She would know what to do.

So she set the letter, the note for her mother, and the list down on

the armchair and went back to painting in her bedroom, but found that

that she just couldn't focus enough. Her mind kept wandering back

to that ever present memory of Pricilla and her owl and then the letter.

She kept thinking kept thinking about Hogwarts. It sounded very intriguing

indeed.

Finally she gave in up painting and went back to the letter. She read

it over and over again until she had it memorized.

Rapunzel then turned to the long list of thing she would need

to buy for this school. Her own thoughts scared her and excited her, for

after reading so much about all this magic stuff she started to believe

that she was actually going to attend. She couldn't wait to tell her

mother.

For the remainder of the day she read all the rest of the papers

Pricilla had given her and pretending that she was using magic.

Rapunzel nearly broke into a happy dance when she saw the sun

start to set. That meant that her mother would be home any minute.

"Rapunzel! Let down your hair!" Rapunzel grinned and clapped

her hands together as she raced toward the window and saw her mother

standing far below.

"Hello, Rapunzel," her mother said once she was up in the tower.

"How was your day?"

"Well, it was, uh, exciting, to say the least," Rapunzel mumbled.

"Darling, please don't mumble. You know how I feel about the

mumbling," her mother said.

"Sorry," Rapunzel hurried on, "So, earlier today a letter came

for me,"

"A letter?" her mother looked very intrigued now. Rapunzel might

have even gone as far as to say that she looked scared.

"Yes. An acceptance letter to a magic school,"

"What?" she looked more intrigued now than worried.

"All the stuff about it is right over there," Rapunzel pointed to the

pile of papers sitting on the floor.

Her mother walked over to it slowly and then read, quietly mumbling

through her red lips as she sifted through the sea of paper and ink.

"And I was wondering," Rapunzel continued, "If I could go?"

For a long moment her mother said nothing. She wondered if her

mother was going to let her go.

Then her head came up and she turned around.

"Oh, Rapunzel, you want to go outside?" she asked.

"Well, I suppose," Rapunzel answered. She hand't really thought

about it much.

"You know why we stay up in this tower. To keep you safe from

the outside world. It's full of awful things and awful people who will

take advantage of you,"

"I know, but-"

"Look, Rapunzel, I'm doing this for your own good. The bottom

line is, you are not leaving this tower. End of discussion."

Rapunzel sighed. "Yes, mother," she said sadly as she watched

her mother take the letter away to her bedroom.

"Now, won't you help me make dinner?" her mother asked

when she returned.

"Okay,"

The next day came and the morning routine proceeded as usual.

By midday, Rapunzel's mother was gone and the chores were finished.

Rapunzel sat alone in the empty living room. She couldn't

think of anything to do. Her mind was set on one thing: The Hogwarts letter.

She thought about going into her mother's bedroom and stealing it

back many times, but she never had the courage to disobey her.

She was just about to reconsider stealing the letter when she heard

a strange sort of noise coming from outside.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! it went.

Rapunzel peered out the window and saw someone climbing the

tower. She nearly screamed, but stopped herself just in time. What was she

going to do?

Her eyes were drawn to the cast iron frying pan sitting on the stove. She

grabbed it as fast she could and hid behind the wooden support beam that

stood just beside the window. She waited.

It wasn't long before she could hear the grunts of the person climbing

the tower and soon she saw him lift himself over the windowsill and into the

tower. He seemed exhausted.

Remembering why she had grabbed the frying pan in the first place

she inched forward and then swung the pan as hard as she could. It hit

his head with a loud CLANG! and he fell to the floor. Rapunzel squealed

and ran over to hide behind her stool. She peeked out at him, waiting for him

to wake up, but he didn't stir.

Slowly, Rapunzel made her way over to him, watching him carefully all

the while.

He was a boy about her age with dark brown hair that fell over his eyes.

She stood over him and watched, with curiosity, the strange concept of

masculinity for Rapunzel had never seen a boy before today.

Suddenly, a moaning sound escaped his lips and Rapunzel reacted

the only way she knew how. She closed her eyes and smacked him in the

head with her frying pan again.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Rapunzel said out loud as she paced

the floor. What was she to do? What are you supposed to do with an

unconscious boy?

She finally came to this conclusion:

"Okay I can handle this. First I have to find out how he found me. I'll

have to wait until he wakes, but what if he tries to hurt me or escape? I tie

him up? But with what?... I know! My hair! I've got plenty of it."

Rapunzel set to work. Her first plan was to tie him up in a chair, but found

that he was to heavy and she was strong enough to lift him. So instead she tied

him up on the floor, propping him up against the wall.

She waited for him to wake up once she finished tying him up but she

waited for quite some time and he didn't move.

Very carefully, she came toward him and slapped him in the face.

"Agh!" he cried as his limp body suddenly came to life and Rapunzel

jumped back. He looked around for a moment, clearly confused. He struggled

for a bit before noticing he was tied up.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Struggling..." Rapunzel began, but she couldn't find the strength to finish

on the first try,"Struggling is pointless."

"What?"

She approached him slowly so that he could see her.

"Who are you? A-and how did you find me?" Rapunzel asked him.

"What?" he asked again.

"Who are you and how did you find me?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Rapunzel held up her frying pan to his face.

"I think this is why," Rapunzel replied, more forcefully than she had intended.

"Okay, alright! My name is Eugene Fitzherbert."

"Now how did you find me?"

"Completely by accident, I swear! I didn't even know if someone lived here!"

he cried. "Look, I was being chased through the forest, I found your tower and

climbed it to hide. End of story."

"So, you didn't come here to steal my hair?" Rapunzel asked.

"Why in the wide, wide world would I ever want your crazy locks?"

"Because it-" she stopped herself before she said too much. If he was telling

the truth, then she couldn't risk telling him about her hair now.

"So, if you could just untie me I'll be on my way," Eugene said.

But she didn't respond. She was having an epiphany. If her mother wouldn't

let her go to Hogwarts, maybe this boy could take her.

"Do you know how to get to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" she

asked.

"Hogwarts?" He seemed stunned. "You're a witch?" Rapunzel slowly nodded.

"Why do you want to know? Can't your parents take you?"

Rapunzel's face fell. "W-well I..."

"I see. You don't have any parents, right?" Eugene said understandingly.

Rapunzel was going to correct him but she felt that if he thought that

she just didn't have any parents he might be more willing to take her.

"Yeah, I know how to get there. I've gone there before, you see. This

will be my second year," Eugene explained.

"So you're a wizard?" Rapunzel asked. He nodded.

Very cautiously, she moved toward him and untied him.

"Thanks," he said. "So I take it that this year is your first year?"

"Yes,"

"So that means you have none of the supplies you need? Like

a wand or a cauldron?" Rapunzel shook her head and Eugene sighed. "So

that means we need to make a stop at Diagon Alley."

"Where?"

"Diagon Alley. It's where they sell all the stuff you need for school at

Hogwarts,"

"Oh. So you mean we're going shopping?"

"Ugh, fine! Yes, I suppose you could call it that."

Rapunzel nearly squealed. She had always wanted to go shopping

with her mother, but of course, she would never let her.

"It'll take us a while to get there, so we'd best start now, miss...?"

Rapunzel suddenly realized that he was asking for her name.

"Rapunzel," she said. "My name is Rapunzel."


	2. Chapter 2 Diagon Alley

Chapter 2

Diagon Alley

Rapunzel looked out over the mountain glen. Her feet itched to jump down and feel the soft, green grass beneath her feet, but she was nervous. What would her mother think? What would her mother do?

"You comin' or what?" came the voice of Eugene as she descended the outer tower.

"I'm coming," Rapunzel answered. She took a deep breath and then jumped out onto the side of the tower. The end of her hair was tied to a support beam inside and she used it like a rock-climbing rope and walked down the side of the tower.

When she reached the bottom she almost couldn't believe it. The grass was so cool and soft, softer than she had ever imagined. She ran wildly over to everything she saw. Flowers, streams, animals, and even rocks. She had never felt so happy before.

"What's got you all excited?" Eugene asked when he reached the bottom. "You have been out of your tower before, haven't you?"

"Well, uh... no, not really," Rapunzel said, calming down from all her excitement.

"Wow, and I thought I was isolated," Eugene chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked.

"Uh, nothing. Let's get moving. We need to make up for lost time." Eugene

lead the way through the forest, Rapunzel trailing after him, but as they walked together for a while she started to walk next to him.

"So, I've been thinking," Rapunzel started. "There are a lot of things to buy on

the list I have. How are we going to pay for all of it?"

Eugene didn't answer. Instead he looked panic-stricken at the satchel he was carrying.

"What's wrong?" Rapunzel asked.

"Nothing," Eugene said quickly. "I've got some money to spare,"

"Oh! Thank you!"

"No problem,"

They walked together through the woods for the remainder of the day, though they didn't go very fast with Rapunzel running off to enjoy the scenery. Eugene was very annoyed by the end of the day.

When night had finally fallen on Corona and the sun had retreated behind the looming mountains Eugene showed Rapunzel how to make a camp. He showed her what kind of wood to gather for the fire, how to start a fire, and where the best place to build a camp was. Before too long they where sitting on a log together around a nice big fire.

Rapunzel was glad she had packed some food with her, because they were both famished.

"So, let me ask you a question," Eugene started.

"Okay,"

"How does a girl like you end up all alone in a tower in the middle of the woods? And with such long hair, for that matter,"

Rapunzel looked away from him. How was she supposed to answer him? She could make up a story, but would he buy it?

"Well, um, I lived there with... with my parents until they..." Rapunzel said, but she knew Eugene had not bought it.

"I'm sorry," he said. This startled Rapunzel and she looked up at him with confused eyes. "If it's any consolation, I know how you feel. I never knew my parents,"

"I'm so sorry," Rapunzel said kindly.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault,"

They sat in silence for a time. The scene felt somewhat awkward, I think, to the both of them.

Rapunzel was about to say something when Eugene stood up abruptly.

"Did you hear that?" he asked quietly. She must have missed it the first time, but she heard it now. The snapping of twigs and the rustling of branches made her stand up too.

"What is it?" Rapunzel asked, matching his quiet tone.

"I can't be sure, but I have an idea," He looked back at his satchel and grabbed it. He pulled out a long broomstick like the one Pricilla was riding on when she left. "Climb on!"

"How did you do that?" Rapunzel asked in amazement.

"There's no time! Hop on!" Eugene ordered.

Rapunzel did as he asked and seated herself, quite uncomfortably, on the broom. Eugene climbed on in front of her and then kicked off from the ground. In a matter of moments, they were flying through the air far away from their camp sight. She looked down and saw two small figures down below starring up at them. It was then that she realized just how high up they were and clung to Eugene for support.

They flew far away and didn't stop for quite some time.

"How did you do that?" Rapunzel asked over the rushing wind.

"What?" Eugene said.

"How did you get this broomstick in your bag?"

"It's, uh, I guess what you might call a magic bag. I can store loads of stuff in it. Think of it as like having a whole closet in a bag."

"Oh," Rapunzel said in wonderment.

As they flew she looked up at the stars and the moon. For some reason they looked closer tonight then they ever had before.

She must have dosed off once or twice during the ride because she awoke that morning in a strange-looking forest on the outskirts of what seemed to be a large town. She sat up and saw Eugene standing just a few feet away stoking a clearly dead fire.

"Hello," she said groggily. "Where are we?"

Eugene turned around and smiled a bit. "Glad to see you're not injured,"

"What do you mean?"

"When you fell asleep you fell off the broom. Luckily I was able to catch you, but I knew I couldn't risk you falling again, so I landed us here on the outskirts of London,"

"London?" Rapunzel repeated. "Where's that?" Eugene chuckled.

"A long ways away from Corona,"

"So is this where Diagon Alley is?" Rapunzel asked.

"Um... in a sense... yes," Eugene answered. He walked over to her and offered her his hand. "Come on. We've got a lot of ground to cover today,"

"Wait, who were those two people I saw back in Corona?" Rapunzel asked.

"Um... they, uh... let's just say that they don't like me and it would be very bad if they find us again," he explained. "Now come on,"

He lead them passed a few houses and then into the cobblestone streets of London. It was very strange and very different from Corona. Almost dismal, Rapunzel thought. It had a certain grey tinge to it.

"Wait a minute, why can't we just use the broom?" Rapunzel asked.

"Because I don't know a spell to make us invisible and we don't want to attract attention," Eugene explained.

"Why?"

Eugene growled and said, "Because Muggles don't know about magic and they're not suppose to!"

"Muggles?" Rapunzel repeated.

"People who don't have magic!" Eugene nearly yelled.

Eugene remained grumpy for the remainder of the trip, though he hardly spoke to Rapunzel. She just followed him quietly and tried not to make too much of a fuss about all the amazing sights she saw.

Her legs were getting very tired when they finally arrived at their destination. It was a shabby old pub with a dingy sign over the front door that read, 'The Leaky Cauldron.' Eugene lead the way inside.

It was as dismal inside as it was outside. There were several people all sitting around and talking making it easy to slip passed them without being noticed. But soon Rapunzel realized, after seeing several of these people perform what simply had to be magic, that this was a wizard pub.

Eugene walked up to the bar keeper on the other side of the room and said, "We're heading for Diagon Alley,"

The barkeeper instantly knew what to do. He took out a set of keys and lead them both to the very back of the pub. He unlocked a big wooden door which lead into a small walled area of stone. He walked up to the back wall and tapped his wand on several different bricks that made up the wall and then suddenly it began to unfold. The large brick wall split in two and disappeared in a matter of seconds.

Rapunzel looked around. The barkeeper was no longer in sight. All she did see was a very strange yet very wonderful looking alley with all kinds of amazing shops and stores.

Hundreds of people were milling about this way and that. Adults, children, and even strange magical creatures.

"Are you gonna admire the scenery all day, or are you gonna come with me?" Eugene asked as Rapunzel was snapped back into reality.

"Oh, um, right," she said following him again. "So where do we go first?"

"To Gringotts," Eugene explained. "It's the bank. All I have is muggle money. We need to change it to wizard money."

Rapunzel tried to walk for a time, but her hair kept getting snagged and stepped on. Eugene then had the brilliant idea of storing all of her hair in his bag and it worked. Rapunzel walked around with a bag strapped around her shoulder and with shorter hair than she had ever had before in her life.

After a short time of walking and looking at all the mesmerizing shops, Rapunzel looked up and saw a large white building that towered above the entire alley. It looked some what daunting, but Eugene just kept going, so she followed.

They walked up a set of white-marble stairs that lead to a pair of burnished bronze doors.

There were two short little men dressed in scarlet and gold uniforms standing at the doors. They were quite ugly with long noses, pointed ears, and sharp teeth. They opened the doors for them as they came closer.

The doors lead down a long entrance hall which in turn lead to one last set of doors. Imprinted on these silver doors was this:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

It made Rapunzel shiver to think what might lurk beneath the floors of this strange bank.

"Eugene, what were those things at the doors?" Rapunzel asked.

"Goblins. Very smart, but very touchy. You best let me do the talking," Eugene said calmly.

The silver doors were also flanked with goblins who opened the doors for them. They entered a long and quite large hall with long counters and several chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

There were several goblins doing some sort of bank work at these long counters. Writing down stuff, coming and leaving with various different strange items, and some were counting gold coins.

They came to the goblin at the end of the hall and stopped. The goblin stopped his scribbling and looked up.

"I wish to convert this muggle money to wizard money," Eugene said firmly as he set a small pouch on the counter.

The goblin took the pouch in his grotesquely long fingers and took out the money inside.

"Very well," he said and he vanished from sight. He returned a few minutes later with a sack full of different strange coins that Rapunzel did not recognize. The goblin returned to his writing and they left the wizard bank.

After that, Eugene lead Rapunzel to various stores to buy all the necessary supplies for Hogwarts. They went first to Flourish and Blotts where they bought all of Rapunzel's school books, then they headed over to Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions where Rapunzel was measured and then fitted for her new school robes. They were all black with long drooping sleeves with a Hogwarts symbol on the left side of her chest.

They went to Potage's Cauldron Shop for her cauldron, Amanuensis Quills for a set of quills for her as well, and then a quick stop at Olivanders for her very own wand. It was a light golden brown with a snug little handle. Mr. Olivander, the shop keeper, had said that it had been an eleven inch willow with a unicorn hair core.

They were just on their way out of Diagon Alley when Rapunzel's eye caught on one store in particular. It was a store called Magical Menagerie and it was simply stuffed full of animals.

She rushed inside and saw cage upon cage of stacked animals screeching and meowing, barking and cawing, growling and roaring. Rapunzel had always dreamed of owning a pet, but her mother had never let her.

She moved passed every cage until she came to the back of the room where she found a small cage containing a small, green lizard. He seemed sad and alone. When he turned and saw Rapunzel he shrieked and then disappeared. Rapunzel gasped and looked at the cage from every angle until she realized that the lizard had not disappeared, but simply changed color to blend in with its surroundings.

"Can I help you?" the shop keeper said coming toward her.

"Um, I think so," Rapunzel answered. "What kind of lizard is this?"

"Oh, him? That's a chameleon," she explained. "Would you like to buy him?"

Rapunzel was just about to say yes when Eugene bursted into the store.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I want to buy this little guy!" she said happily.

"You don't need a pet, you know," Eugene said angrily. "It's not one of the things you _have_ to get,"

"I know, but I _want_ to buy him," Rapunzel explained. "Please?" She starred at Eugene with the biggest, saddest eyes she could muster until finally he gave in.

"Fine! How much is he?" he asked the shop keeper.

"He's on sale. No one's seemed to want him," she explained. "He's not worth much, either. The total being two galleons and five sickles,"

Eugene reached his hand into the pouch and pulled out the money. He gave it to the shopkeeper who in tern gave Rapunzel the cage containing the lizard.

"I think I'll name him Pascal," Rapunzel thought out loud once they had exited the store. "What do you think?"

"He's your chameleon," Eugene said.

After that Eugene decided that they had just enough money left over to indulge in some sweets. They went straight for Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour where they each got a delicious ice cream cone to feast on as they made their way out of the bustling alley. It had been a very fun day.


	3. Chapter 3 The Sorting Ceremony

Chapter 3

The Sorting Ceremony

After leaving Diagon Alley, Eugene suggested that they should stay at the leaky cauldron until school started. They didn't want to attract any unwanted attention trying to get back to Corona. The first few nights, Rapunzel wished she were anywhere else, but as term inched closer, she just couldn't wait.

Eugene had a pet owl of his own called Norbert, a chubby little screech owl with one weird foot, which he let Rapunzel use to get her letter to Hogwarts to let them know she was going to be attending.

Finally the great day arrived when they would be heading off to school. Eugene said that they were going by train to get there. He lead them both to a very big and very noisy train station with all of their things in tow.

When they first walked in, Rapunzel was a little bit shocked that the wizarding world would choose such a place like this to put their magic train, but it wasn't until they actually came to the platform their train was on that she finally understood.

"Here we are," Eugene said proudly. "Platform nine and three quarters!" He waved his hand majestically at the station. However it did not look like a station at all. To Rapunzel it looked more like a brick wall.

"This is a station?" Rapunzel asked, confused.

"No, no, no! _This_ isn't the station," Eugene said.

"Then what is?" said Rapunzel.

"Well, let me show you," Eugene said mischievously. Rapunzel did not like the sound of his voice.

Suddenly, Rapunzel was being pushed forward toward the brick pillar they were standing in front of. Eugene was moving her forward. She was going to crash! She screamed and closed her eyes while Pascal, who had been sitting on her shoulder, ducked behind her hair to hide. She waited for the impact, but it never came. She opened one scared eye and looked around. She was on a completely different train platform!

She walked around one corner and saw a scarlet steam engine sitting comfortably on a set of railway tracks. On the side it read, 'Hogwarts Express.'

She looked up and saw a sign hanging from a small pole. 'Platform 9 3/4' was written on it.

She laughed now about how silly she had been to have thought that she was going to hit the wall back in the other train station, but also partly because she was utterly stunned by all of this.

Rapunzel jumped suddenly as a voice resinated behind her.

"So what do you think?" Eugene asked.

"I don't have the words!" Rapunzel managed to say. "But you know you didn't have to push me through the wall,"

"Meh. It was more fun this way. Now, the train leaves in a few minutes. Here's your ticket," he handed her a piece of paper with the name of the train and the train station written on it. "Don't lose it. It seems that this is where we part, Rapunzel,"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't really need me any more," Eugene said simply. "I suggest you hurry up and find a seat on the train before it's too late," He walked away from her and into the crowd of wizards and witches.

Rapunzel felt a little more scared now than she had before but it still did not stop her from getting on the train. Since Eugene had to take his magic bag with him she didn't have anywhere to store her hair except her arms. She was quite the sight when she walked down the isles of the train wearing her frilly purple dress and her immensely long hair bunched up in her hands.

Her hair was stacked so high that she could barely see where she was going and bumped right into another Hogwarts student. They both fell to the floor with a muffled THUMP! and Rapunzel's hair went everywhere.

She looked up. She had bumped into a boy, no more older than she was, with messy, dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was very skinny and very handsome.

"I am so sorry!" Rapunzel said at once. "I just couldn't see where I was going a-and... I'm sorry!"

"It's alright!" the boy said. This was not quite the reply that Rapunzel had had in mind. Based on what her mother had told her, it seemed like he would be furious with her.

"You mean, you're not angry?" Rapunzel asked.

"Of course not! Accidents happen," he said with a smile. "My name's Jack," He offered her his hand as he stood up. She took it, slowly at first, but as soon as her hand met his he pulled her up.

"Thanks. I'm Rapunzel,"

"Well, it was nice to meet you," Jack said as he wandered off to another compartment.

Rapunzel wandered the hall aimlessly. She wanted a room all to herself, so there wouldn't be any more awkward conversations between her and someone she hardly knew. Unfortunately most of them were quite full of babbling students, so she settle for a compartment that only had one person in it, a boy about her age with shaggy brown hair and green eyes. He was reading a book about magical creatures when she came in.

"May I sit with you?" Rapunzel asked shakily. The boy looked up.

"Uh- sure. I don't mind," he said awkwardly.

Rapunzel sat down on the opposite seat to him.

"My name's Hiccup," the boy said trying to break the ice.

"I'm Rapunzel," She tried to smile but knew that it was a pathetic attempt.

"Is this your first year?" Hiccup asked, clearly more comfortable than Rapunzel was.

"Me?" Rapunzel asked when his voice suddenly resounded. He nodded. "Uh, I've never been to Hogwarts before. In fact I wasn't aware that wizards existed before this summer,"

"Oh, so you're a muggle-born?" Hiccup asked.

"I think so," Rapunzel said unsteadily

"I am too," Hiccup said reassuringly. "Yep. It was very weird when the, uh, representative for Hogwarts came and told me I was a wizard. My dad had the worst time accepting it."

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked as the screeching sound of the train's wheels came to their ears and they started to move slowly down the railroad tracks.

"Well, you see, I'm a viking, and my dad is the chief of our village. He really only believes in what he can see, and frankly, I don't think he was too comfortable with sending me away to some foreign country to learn magic tricks. I guess he doesn't really think that I can do a lot of stuff on my own,"

"You're a-a viking?" Rapunzel asked fearfully. Her mother had warned her about vikings. She said they do awful things all the time.

"Yeah," Hiccup answered. "But not a very viking-like viking. I've never really been that strong, or coordinated, or pigheaded, so..."

Rapunzel breathed a sigh of relief at this. For a brief moment she had considered escaping off the train if there was a viking on board, but HIccup didn't seem bad at all. Perhaps her mother had been wrong.

For a long time they were silent and Hiccup went back to reading his book. Watching the quickly changing landscape outside took Rapunzel's mind off the stiffness of the scene. That is, until there came a yelling noise from the hall outside.

"Yeah! And same to you and your mum!" It was definitely a girl, and she had a very thick scottish accent. It sounded like she had just come out of a fight. She came to their compartment not but a few moments later with another girl who looked equally as tuff looking as she was tuff sounding.

The first girl who had yelled was very feisty-looking with a huge mop of curly red hair and bright turquoise eyes. She wore a simple dark teal dress with ruffled elbows and shoulders.

The second girl actually reminded Rapunzel of Hiccup a bit. She had pale blonde hair that fell over her icy blue eyes. She wore a blue top with some sort of metal shoulder guards and a leather skirt with spikes on it.

"Do ya mind if we sit with you?" she asked.

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked in amazement.

"Hiccup!?" the blonde girl asked just as shocked as Hiccup was. "Hiccup Haddock?"

"Yeah, that's me," Hiccup answered.

"Since when are you a wizard?" Astrid asked somewhat rudely.

"Well, since when are you a witch?" Hiccup shot back.

"Since always. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut too."

"Really?" Hiccup asked, his eyes bulging.

"Yeah. Why else do you think I hang out with them?" Astrid asked as she seated herself next to Rapunzel. Rap wanted to inched farther away from her, but she was already as close to the window as she could get.

"My name's Merida, by the way," the red head spoke up as she sat down beside Hiccup.

"It's nice to meet you," Rapunzel said softly.

"It's nice to meet you too," Merida said kindly.

"Anything from the trolly?" said a lady pushing a cart of sweets down the hallway.

"Well, I don't really have any money," Rapunzel said sheepishly.

"I really shouldn't," said Hiccup. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Ugh! You're all a bunch of weenies!" Merida cried. She reached into her pockets and pulled out two handfuls of galleons. "I'll take all of the best candies you've got!"

Rapunzel's jaw dropped. How much money did Merida have? As they were all munching on chocolate frogs, Berty Bott's every flavor beans, and licorice wands, among other sweets, Rapunzel asked this very question.

"I'm a princess," Merida had answered.

"Really?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes," Merida said. "The princess of clan DunBroch in Scotland."

'Well that would explain the accent,' Rapunzel thought.

"You don't really look like a princess," Hiccup said.

"What do you mean by that?" Merida asked, her voice rising.

"Well, don't most princesses wear big frilly dresses and stuff like that?" Hiccup asked.

"Not me," Merida explained. "I've never liked those kinds of clothes. Especially since I like to ride my horse, Angus, and do archery. Frilly dresses just don't really work with those sorts of activities,"

Not all that much was said during the remainder of the ride to Hogwarts. They mostly just watched the outside world shift and darken as night approached while Hiccup read his book.

Rapunzel's excitement nearly boiled over when a lady came to their compartment and told them to change into their uniforms.

SCREEECH!

The Hogwarts Express came to a halt and Rapunzel nearly squealed. They started to walk off the train together with the other students out into the dark night.

Once everyone was gathered outside they were approached by a very large, very tall man with a face full of big bushy whiskers.

"All right! First years come with me to the boats!" he bellowed.

"I guess that means us," Hiccup said quietly to his new friends.

They all waded through the sea of black cloaks following the barely visible form of the man leading them to the boats.

Soon a great lake came into view and Rapunzel could just make out the silhouette of an enormous castle sitting on a small hill. She could see all the tiny windows glowing bright with light though.

On the shores of the lake sat several large row boats with lanterns hanging from long poles, except, there were no ores for the rowing of the row boats. But nonetheless, they were told to get in. Rapunzel got into a boat with Hiccup, Merida, and Astrid as she only knew two other people there.

Suddenly, the boats started to move all on their own, heading straight for the castle on the hill. Some kids held lanterns at the front of the boats while others merely starred in wonder.

"Hogwarts!" Rapunzel breathed.

The boats were painstakingly slow for Rapunzel. She was nearly hopping up and down in her seat.

After a while they came to the lowest part of the castle where the boats went under some light foliage and then came into a large underground chamber where staircases lead upward.

Rapunzel followed the flow of students leaving the boats and heading up the stairs. They got quite high until they were approached by a tall old woman in an emerald pointed hat and cloak. They all stopped cold.

"I am professor McGonagall," she announced with a subtle scottish voice. "Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few minutes you will pass through these doors," she pointed to the large double doors that stood directly behind her, "and you will be sorted into your houses. The Hogwarts houses are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Now while you are here your house will be like your family. Accomplishments will earn you points, any rule-breaking and you will lose points. Now wait here and I will return shortly," She left the room and went through the double doors.

"That's my gran," Merida whispered to Rapunzel.

"Really?" Rapunzel asked, turning to look at her fiery friend.

"Yep. She married a muggle so my mum turned out muggle too, but I inherited her magic,"

"I'm hoping for Gryffindor," Rapunzel heard Astrid say.

"What's the sorting ceremony?" a little girl with black, candy-strewn hair asked.

"My older brother said it's a test," someone else said.

"My sister said you have to outsmart a hat,"

"No, no! You have to battle a dragon!"

Rapunzel panicked. A dragon? She wanted to run straight back to the boats and catch the train back home right then and there, but her legs wouldn't move her. So she stood there, stark frozen, and hoped that it wasn't a dragon.

Professor McGonagall reappeared and said, "We are ready for you now," All the students followed her inside and Rapunzel's fear melted away.

The room inside was a great hall with large windows adorning the wall at the back of the room and candles floating high above. Far above the candles there was no ceiling. Merely the night sky shining clearly through the candle light.

"I read about that!" Rapunzel heard a boy with shaggy black hair say. "It's not the real sky, just an enchantment,"

Rapunzel looked around the crowd of children and her eyes caught Jack waving at her. She waved back for a moment but then turned her attention back to the sight before her.

In the center of the room there sat four long wooden tables with silver plates and golden goblets sitting on them. At each table, Rapunzel noticed, the students who sat there wore different colored uniforms.

Rapunzel turned her attention to Professor McGonagall who stood right in front of them at the top of a small flight of stairs were there sat another long table. At this table there sat several adults who Rapunzel supposed were teachers and professors.

McGonagall had in her hand an old, ratty wizard hat and a rolled up piece of parchment. She stood next to a small stool that had mysteriously appeared, though Rapunzel assumed McGonagall had put it there when she wasn't looking. All the students stopped once they reached her as she placed the hat on the stool. Suddenly it burst to life and started to sing!

Oh you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors appart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin,

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!

All the students sitting at the tables suddenly burst into applause and loud cheers and woops. Evidently this was a common thing to happen at Hogwarts.

"Now when I call your name, you will step forward and I will place the sorting hat on your head," McGonagall announced as she unfurled the role of paper. "Aladdin Ababua!"

A skinny boy with shaggy black hair walked up nervously to the stool and sat down. McGonagall placed the hat on his head and it fell down over his eyes. After a moment or two it cried out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The other students clapped and cheered as he made his way over to the table where the students wore scarlet and gold accents on their robes.

"Astrid Hofferson!" McGonagall said next.

Astrid held her chest high and strutted for the stool. She sat down, had the hat placed on her head and before too long it cried out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

A girl named Belle was sorted into Ravenclaw next, followed by a girl named Fawn who got sent to Hufflepuff.

Hiccup was the first of the four friends to be called on. He took a deep breath and practically stumbled up to the stool. When the sorting hat yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hufflepuff table, adorned with yellow and black, exploded with applause.

After him came a boy called Hiro Hamada who was sorted into Ravenclaw, and a girl named Iredessa who was sent to Hufflepuff with Hiccup.

Jack came next. The hat was silent for quite some time and Rapunzel was worried that he might not be able to make up his mind, but soon it yelled, "SLYTHERIN!" and Jack rushed over to the Slytherin table colored green and silver.

"What a shame," Merida said quietly.

"Why?" Rapunzel asked.

"Slytherin's the house of evil wizards. Every one of them's a troublemaker," Merida explained.

A boy named Jim Hawkins joined Jack at the Slytherin table followed by Eugene sadly, and a boy named Kuzco. Some laughs were exchanged when Professor McGonagall failed to pronounce one girl's name correctly. The girl in question, Kidagakash, or Kida for short, was sorted into Gryffindor.

After a girl named Mavis, Merida was called up to the stool. Rapunzel heard her mumbling to herself to stay calm as she went. The hat went on her head then came right off again the moment it bellowed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

There were quite a few other names that followed Merida, including Peter Pan, Milo Thatch, and Penny Forrester, and then it was Rapunzel's turn. She nearly jumped when her name was finally called but she steadied herself and slowly made her way to the professor and the stool.

She sat down, starring at the entire school, and felt her heart start to beat rapidly. When the sorting hat was placed on her head, down over her eyes, she felt a bit better until a voice came to her ears.

"Hello there, what have we here?" said the voice. Rapunzel couldn't tell if it was speaking out loud, or just in her head. "I see bravery, yes. Running away from home? Oh! Very naughty indeed! But you're much to sweet for those Slytherin ruffians. I see a ready mind, oh yes, a hunger for knowledge. Right then... better be...,"

"RAVENCLAW!" came the voice of the hat. Rapunzel was sure it had spoken out loud that time.

When Professor McGonagall pulled the hat off her head the Ravenclaws were all cheering wildly for her as she came over to their table. It felt very nice to be welcomed so eagerly into a society.

The sorting ceremony went on for a while afterwards. Several more kids made each of the different houses including a girl named Rosetta, two twins named Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who Rapunzel was sure were two of Astrid's friends that she had mentioned on the train, a lovely young girl named Tiana, Venellope Von Schweetz, the same girl who had asked what the sorting ceremony was earlier, and a boy named Wilbur Robinson.

After everyone had seated themselves and quieted down, Professor McGonagall called for quiet and the whole hall stilled.

"Headmaster Albus Dumbledore would like to say a few words," she said as the old man sitting in a golden thrown at the teacher's table stood up.

"Welcome first-year students!" he said cheerfully. "And welcome back to the rest of our students. I am sure that this year will be one to remember. Now, as usual I must remind all of you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, and that no one is permitted to wander the grounds at night without a teacher. We also have a new professor with us this year. Professor Bunny," He held out one hand gesturing to the teacher in question and he stood. "He will be taking over our Defense Against the Dark Arts class,"

Professor Bunny looked tall and strict. He wore mostly grey, Rapunzel noticed, and he had very shaggy hair that stuck out slightly at the ends. A bit like Hiccup's hair actually.

The professor sat down and the headmaster continued.

"Now I am sure you are all very anxious for the festivities to begin, but before we do, let us join in singing the Hogwarts School song. Everyone may sing it to their own favorite tune,"

Dumbledore held up his wand and a long ribbon began to come out of it. Written on the banner was what Rapunzel presumed to be the words to the song they were about to sing. Then it started. All the students sang:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald,

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling,

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Rapunzel was one of the last to finish among other students but had a fun time singing it.

"So without further adieu, let the feast commence," Dumbledore said.

Suddenly the tables were filled with all sorts of delicious-smelling food. There was roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, bacon, steak, joints, steak and kidney pie, boiled potatoes, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, french fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and much to Rapunzel's surprise, peppermint humbugs.

She had never once seen so much food in one place before. She dove right in filling up her plate with all she could fit on it and then went back for seconds.

"Hi, my name's Hiro," said a boy sitting next to her.

"I'm Rapunzel," Rapunzel replied.

"You a muggle-born?" he asked.

"How could you tell?" Rapunzel frowned.

"Easy. You barely have any idea what's going on, do you?" Rapunzel blushed and shook her head. "You see, most people who get sorted into Ravenclaw do a ton of research before hand, that's the tell tale sign that they are definitely a Ravenclaw. That is, unless you're a muggle-born in which case you never know."

"What about you?" Rapunzel asked. "Are you a muggle-born?"

"Me? Oh, no! I'm a pure-blood, or at least that's what my older brother says. I never knew my parents," Hiro said biting into a piece of steak. Rapunzel was going to continue talking with him, but he got swept up in a conversation with a boy named Milo about some sort of magic spell.

She then turned to her right and saw the girl named Belle.

"Hello," Rapunzel said simply. "I'm Rapunzel,"

"I'm Belle. It's nice to meet you," Belle said.

"So, what happens after dinner?"

"You're asking me? I'm a muggle-born," Belle replied. "I read a lot about Hogwarts when I could but I don't know that much," She continued eating her mashed potatoes.

Once most of the food was consumed and most of the student's stomachs were full all the food vanished as suddenly as it had arrived and was replaced by an assortment of positively scrumptious-looking desserts. There were blocks of just about every flavor of ice cream you could ever want, apple pies, chocolate gateau, treacle tart, pumpkin tart, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, and rice pudding.

At first Rapunzel thought she couldn't eat another bite, but the moment the apple pie touched her lips she knew she was wrong. Her plate was once again filled up as much as it could be with pies and eclairs and pudding.

"Hey, did you guys here that their starting a new astronomy program?" one boy said.

The rest of the table burst into unintelligible babbling while Rapunzel remained silent. The feast was amazing, but she still felt a little unsure about talking to a large amount of people.

After all the sweets were gone and everyone looked as though they were ready to pass out, Dumbledore announced the end of it and sent them all off to bed. Each house was lead to their dorms by their house's prefect. Rapunzel was astounded to see that one of the Ravenclaw prefects was Pricilla Periwinkle.

She lead them all down several hallways and then they climbed high up into a tall tower. Just as Rapunzel thought that she would collapse, they came to a big blue door with no handle or keyhole of any kind. All that was attached to it was a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. At first Rapunzel thought she had imagined it, but then realized that the knocker was actually talking.

"What is as big as you yet weighs nothing?" it said.

"Your shadow," Pricilla answered and the door swung open.

They all entered what Rapunzel presumed to be the Ravenclaw tower room that she heard about at the feast.

"Alright, welcome to Ravenclaw tower," Pricilla said proudly. "That way to the boys dormitories," she pointed to a door not too far from her. "And that way to the girls dorms," she pointed to the opposite side of the room at a door just like the other one. "All of your belongings have already been brought up for you,"

Rapunzel followed Belle and a few other girl Ravenclaws to the girl's dormitory. She went from room to room until she found her trunk and Pascal waiting for her at the topmost floor. The beds where pressed in to the walls in little niches and large wardrobes stuck out from the walls in between the beds and separated them.

The room Rapunzel was to sleep in she shared with Belle, two other girls named Honey Lemon and Gogo, and one last girl named Tinkerbell.

She sat down on her bed and looked out one of the windows. She chuckled to herself at the hilariousness of the situation. She had left her tower to go to Hogwarts and now found herself staying in another tower. It seemed that she had a knack for finding towers.

She put on her pajamas as best she could in the fading light and then snuggled down under the warm blue blankets of her bed. She fell right to sleep and only wished she had come to Hogwarts sooner.


	4. Chapter 4 First Day at Hogwarts

Chapter 4

First Day at Hogwarts

Rapunzel woke with a start the next morning. She felt as though she had only just laid down in her bed when she saw Tinkerbell's face in front of her. It had been she who had awoken Rapunzel. Later she explained that she had done this because they all needed a head-start on the day. After a few minutes of groaning commenced, Rapunzel was actually quite glad that Tinkerbell had done so, because it gave her and Belle some time to braid her hair so that it wouldn't be dragging around the hallways like last night.

Breakfast came not but two minutes later. Everything was happening so quickly that Rapunzel barely remembered what happened in the time between her sitting in her dorm and then eating scrambled eggs.

Despite their being very friendly, Rapunzel decided to sit a little farther away from the girls. So much had happened recently that she just wanted a moment of silence to take it all in.

"Hey there, Punzie!" There was only one person in the entire school who would talk like that. Princess Merida plopped down right next to Rapunzel.

'So much for peace and quiet,' thought Rapunzel.

"What you doin' here by yourself?" Merida asked.

"Just catching my breathe," Rapunzel answered. "This place is so amazing! Even the food is amazing!"

"The food?" Merida asked, slightly confused, slightly amused.

"Well, you know, how it magically appears..." Rapunzel could feel her cheeks blushing.

"So, how was Ravenclaw common room?"

"It was nice. I didn't really get to see much of it. We were all rushed to bed,"

"Yeah, the same," Merida said. "I'm telling you, though, I'm likely to get lost in that room with all the red everywhere!"

Rapunzel looked her friend up and down, mostly looking at her large mop of crazy red, curly hair.

"Yup. I bet you would," Both girls laughed.

"Hey, Hiccup!" Merida called as she spotted the clumsy boy. "Come sit with us!"

"You sure you don't mind?" Hiccup asked.

"Are you kidding? Get over here!" Merida hollered. Rapunzel noticed that they were getting some very unusual looks from Slytherin table.

"Okay, so Merida," Hiccup started, "Are you a Half-blood or a muggle-born?"

"You know, It's really unclear," Merida answered. "My gran's a witch, but my parents are both muggles, so I suppose I'm a half-blood born from muggles!"

There was an uncanny silenced that overtook the small group as Hiccup and Rapunzel tried to understand what their friends had just said.

"What?" Rapunzel finally asked.

"You know what, never mind," Merida said quickly. "So, how's Hufflepuff Hiccup? Having fun at the bottom of the food-chain?"

"Well, actually, yeah," Hiccup replied. "The other Hufflepuffs are all really cool, and the common room is amazing!"

"I was being sarcastic," Merida said simply.

"Hey, Rapunzel!" Rapunzel turned to see Eugene standing right beside her.

"Hi, Eugene," Rapunzel answered.

"So you got sorted into Ravenclaw? Sweet," Eugene said very smoothly.

It seemed like he was going to say something else when someone stopped him. It was the same boy she'd met on the train, Jack Foster.

"Hey, Eugene! Where'd you run off to?" Jack asked as he approached.

"Oh, hey, Jack," Eugene said happily. "This is-"

"Rapunzel! Cool to see you again!" Jack said as soon as he saw her. "How was the train ride?" He proceeded to sit down right beside her as Eugene sat down next to Hiccup. He didn't seem too pleased with Jack at that moment, but Rapunzel couldn't figure out why.

Unfortunately they didn't have much time to continue the conversation as they were all rushed off to their classes. Rapunzel followed the rest of Ravenclaw down a few hallways until they were all stopped by a very annoying, shrill laughing. Suddenly, a little man appeared out of thin air, but he didn't look like a normal man, oh certainly not. He was very short, had horrible orange eyes and wore the most outlandish clothes Rapunzel had ever seen. But I think what surprised her most was the fact that he was flying through the air.

"Ooh! It's some fresh first-years!" he squealed.

"Beat it, Peeves!" cried Pricilla who was leading the group.

"Oh, but I just want to have a little fun!" Peeves said as he, astoundingly, turned himself invisible. Rapunzel looked around frantically to try and see where he might have gone, but the only sign that he was still there at all was the sound of his horrible laughter.

All of a sudden, the statues of armor that stood lined up against the wall next to them all fell over in rapid succession; a loud clang echoed through the halls. Then there came a scream. It sounded like a girls voice, Rapunzel thought, but when she looked she saw a boy, Hiro Hamada, being lifted into the air by his robe.

"Peeves, I mean it!" Pricilla continued. "If you don't put him down, I'm going to call the Red Barron!"

"What's the Red Baron?" Rapunzel whispered to Tinkerbell.

"That's Slytherin house's ghost. The only person in the whole school who Peeves is afraid of," Tink explained.

Suddenly, Hiro dropped to the floor with a thud and Peeves' laughing vanished.

"You all make sure to be wary of Peeves the Poltergeist, understand?" Pricilla said to all the students following her. Once they all nodded, they continued down the hall.

The first class they attended was Charms. By the name, Rapunzel assumed that it had something to do with a wide variety of magic spells, which reminded her of her new wand. She would finally be able to use it now!

They were greeted by a very plump, very kind-looking woman who wore light blue robes and had short white hair.

"Welcome class!" she said cheerfully. "Let us begin with the roll call,"

Charms class was a little less than exciting. Unfortunately for Rapunzel, they never actually got to cast any spells, they just practiced simple wand movements. After Charms came History of Magic which was much more fun thanks to their eccentric teacher, Professor Genie. He appeared to be some sort of blue ghost that could change his form any time he wished. That came in handy when trying to help the class visualize the history lesson.

After that came lunch when Rapunzel rejoined her friends for a seemingly brief time before it all started again. Transfiguration was next, taught by professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house. It was an interesting subject, one that Rapunzel was looking forward to doing tomorrow.

Then came the class that Rapunzel had been most worried about: Defense Against the Dark Arts. It sounded very scary to her, as she was under the impression that there was nothing to fear in this magical haven, but apparently she was wrong.

There was a sign, Rapunzel noticed, just outside the classroom by the door. It read: Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom, No Cursing Allowed.'

Cursing? Rapunzel hadn't even thought about curses. Why would anyone want to curse somebody else?

When they entered the room they were greeted by Professor Bunny whom she had seen at the feast. He looked even more stern in the grey light of the classroom. They also found Slytherin house waiting for them. Apparently they were having class together.

"G'day class," said Professor Bunny. He had a very thick australian accent. "If you would take a seat, then we'll begin with the lesson,"

Once everyone was seated and quiet he said, "Now for your first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, I'll be showin' you how to-"

"Get a haircut?" Rapunzel turned around and saw Jack smiling widely at his own joke. Evidently he thought Professor Bunny's hair was too long, which it almost was, but Rapunzel thought it looked nice on him.

There were a few other laughs that came from the Slytherin students, including Eugene, but they all stopped when the professor came over to them.

"And what do we have 'ere?" he asked. "Some troublemakers?"

"Oh, no, absolutely not," Jack said, still smiling.

"I should hope not, Mr. Foster,"

Bunny started to turn and walk away, but he wasn't a few feet past Jack's desk when Jack whispered, "Kangaroo,"

"What!?" the professor cried as he whipped around.

"Nothing," Jack said innocently. Bunny merely growled a little and then went back to the lesson.

"Now," Bunny continued, "Today we shall learn about Pixies,"

That nigh at dinner, all the hall was buzzing with excited voices of students. Some where chatting with their friends about the latest broomstick, others were conversing about how their day had gone, but one conversation in particular caught Rapunzel's attention. Honey Lemon had just mentioned something about a young boy who had gotten on Peeves the Poltergeist's bad side and had ended up falling down a flight of stairs and broke his arm.

"Where is he now?" Rapunzel asked.

"In the medical wing," Honey explained. "Madam Pomfrey said he'll be fine,"

Rapunzel thought about this for a moment. She had the ability to heal any injury instantly, and she could be using that power right now. But she was still afraid that if she used her powers then people would want to steal it from her, or use her to their own advantage; and so she let the idea that she could have help someone float away into the sea of her thoughts.

Then a hoard of ghosts came pouring in to the room. They flew through the air and raced past the tables, scaring more than a few children. There was one ghost in particular, a very beautiful young woman, who flew right over Ravenclaw table.

"Lovely to see you again, Miss Ravenclaw," Pricilla exclaimed when she saw her. The ghost nodded quietly and moved on.

"Who was that?" Rapunzel asked Hiro.

"That was Helena Ravenclaw, the ghost of Ravenclaw," Hiro answered.

"Hmm. So I guess all the houses have their own ghost?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yeah. Slytherin's is the Red Barron, Gryffindor's is Nearly Headless Nick," Rapunzel didn't even want to ask. "Hufflepuff's is the Fat Friar, and ours is Helena Ravenclaw," Tinkerbell explained.

Later when everyone was in the common room, Rapunzel decided to head to bed early. She was thinking about her mother a lot that night. About all that she had warned her about, and about how sad she must be feeling knowing that her own daughter ran away from home. She sat on her bed and starred out the window into the great, dark expanse below. It was amazing.

Before she went to sleep Rapunzel promised that she would send a letter to her mother telling her that she was fine. She figured that if she was gonna leave home without even saying goodbye she should at least tell her mother that she's okay.


	5. Chapter 5 Mother Knows Best

Chapter 5

Mother Knows Best

Mother Gothel came strolling back to the bright and sunny tower she kept tucked away in a hidden glen. She had just returned from pickpocketing some wealthy duke and buying herself and her pet some food. Of course, though, she never really thought of Rapunzel as her daughter. If anyone was that precious to her it would be Rapunzel's hair. Rapunzel was simply attached to it.

She decided that today she would save Rapunzel the trouble of having to hoist her up the tower, as last time she nearly lost her grip and fell to her death.

Instead, she went around to the back of the tower and used her secret tunnel entrance. She had used to use it more when Rapunzel was little. She would sneak out at night to get more things like clothes and food.

Once at the top, she peered around to see if Rapunzel was nearby. Her supposed daughter was now where in sight.

Mother Gothel climbed up out of the hole in the floor and covered it back up with a large tile piece of the living room floor.

She didn't hear anything. Perhaps Rapunzel was napping and there was nothing to worry about.

"Rapunzel! I'm home!" she called. There was no answer. She must be napping.

She walked up a short slight of stairs and went into her daughter's bedroom. She didn't see anyone in the bed. She walked closer, and sure enough, the bed was empty.

"Oh no," she said under her breath, a realization suddenly dawning on her. The letter to Hogwarts… had Rapunzel gone to attend?

"Rapunzel?" she called out as she raced into the living room. "Rapunzel!" she called again, but no one answered. Her suspicions had been correct.

What was she to do? Her little flower was probably in the hands of some thief by now!

She told herself to calm down. Where was the first place you went to when going to Hogwarts? Of course! The Three Broomsticks. But that was miles and miles away from here. How would she get there?

She groaned as one idea came to her. She could easily steal a horse and catch up to her in no time, but that would be so much work. Still, there were no other options available, so she took it.

Later that evening, Mother Gothel set out on a young, white stallion she had stolen from the royal guard. It was not easy by a long shot, but well worth it. This horse was fast. Most in the royal guard were.

Of course it still took a very long time before she was in England, several days in fact, but she would do anything to get her flower back. She could already feel the youth draining from her.

She got a little turned around in London, but eventually made it to the Three Broomsticks.

"Excuse me, good sir, but have you seen my poor little, lost daughter anywhere," she said to the man behind the counter of the old pub. "She about this high with long golden hair,"

The man, at least half drunk at the time, replied, "I haven't seen any gold bears around, but if I had I could be rich!" Mother Gothel groaned. She was getting nowhere with him. "Hey, but if you want a room, just gold me, er, call me,"

She looked around the rickety old pub and scrunched up her nose. Never in a million years would she consider staying here. It was even worse than the last time she saw it.

"No thank you," she said, making her way to diagon alley.

She spent the entire day wandering those streets, checking every store and popsicle stand, but little Rapunzel was nowhere to be seen. That was because that day, Eugene had had chosen that day to shoe Rapunzel around London. So when Mother Gothel next checked all the rooms at the Three Broomsticks, she again found nothing.

She refused to stay at the pub, and so rented herself a room at a nearby inn. Unfortunately for her, Eugene and Rapunzel would be leaving for Hogwarts the next day, and she would be helpless to stop them.

That day, Mother Gothel went down to the pub and asked the man at the counter, once again, if he had seen Rapunzel. Again, he was useless. So that left Gothel in a dead end.

As she wandered the streets of London, she kept thinking of where Rapunzel may be. Then she thought of something else. What if Rapunzel had never made it to the Three Broomsticks?

She then decided to retrace her steps and see if she could find any trace of her daughter back in her home kingdom of Corona.

When she made it back, feeling quite sick of riding all over the place, she found a curious little owl holding a small piece of parchment in its beak. She picked it up slowly and opened up an envelope with her name on it. What she found was astonishing. It was a letter from Rapunzel.

Dear Mother,

I realize that I shouldn't have run away like I did, and that you're probably worried sick about me, but I wanted you to know that I am perfectly safe her at Hogwarts. I've been learning all about magic and meeting new people.

You should also know, that I am allowed to come home during the holidays, so we will see each other before school ends.

Love, your daughter,

Rapunzel

Mother Gothel was furious with herself. How could she had forgotten that the start of term was days ago? Now she had to race all the way back to the Three Broomsticks and somehow find a way to Hogwarts. That would be a magic trick in it of itself, as she never thought to memorized where Hogwarts was. But nothing would stop her from trying.


	6. Chapter 6 The Flying Lesson

Chapter 6

The Flying Lesson

Back at Hogwarts, Rapunzel kept on thinking about her mother. Would she get the letter she had sent? Would she be furious with her?

Suddenly, she felt little feet climbing up her back, and then saw her new pet, Pascal, sitting on her shoulder.

"Hey there, Pascal," she said quietly.

She sat on her bed and watched the white clouds moving in the sky. There certainly weren't a lot of sunny days here in England, were there?

Another thing that had Rapunzel worried was today's first flying lesson. They were going to learn to fly on broomsticks. She was used to being up in high places, but this was entirely different.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tinkerbell asked as she pulled on her robes.

"I'm just a little nervous about today's flying lesson, I guess," Rapunzel answered.

"Aw, there's nothing to worry about!" Tink assured her. "Its super easy!"

"Really?"

"Absolutely! Plus, we'll be joined by Hufflepuff, so Hiccup will be there."

"What about Hiccup?"

"He'll be there with Hufflepuff, so, you know, maybe you'll feel a little better having a good friend there with you?"

"You really think he's a good friend?" Rapunzel asked.

"Well, yeah. Everyone's seen you, him, Merida, Jack and Eugene talking together at meal times. Haven't you had friends before?"

"Well, um…" Rapunzel didn't really know how to answer.

"Well, anyway, I bet you a million galleons that you'll do great!" Tink said, grinning. "But you might want to think about cutting your hair,"

"What?" Rapunzel became startled by this comment.

"Well, it just might get in the way of the broomstick, you know?"

"Oh," She starred out he window again.

"And, you know, just about everything else," Tinkerbell said, coming over. " Hey, its gonna be fine. Now let's go down to breakfast before there isn't any left,"

Reluctantly leaving Pascal behind, Rapunzel followed Tink down to the great hall. But on the way there, she bumped into Jack again. Tink said she'd meet her in the great hall.

"How do you like Hogwarts, Punzie?" Jack asked.

"Its fantastic!" Rapunzel said cheerfully. "I can't wait for potions class today, too,"

"I can," said Jack. "Professor Yzma teaches that class,"

"Who's professor Yzma?"

"Ha! Living proof that dinosaurs still roam the earth!" Rapunzel laughed.

"We're taking potions with you guys, right?"

"Yeah. It'll be 'fun'," Jack said sarcastically. "So did you hear about the latest broomstick from-"

But Rapunzel wasn't listening, she was looking at Eugene at the end of the hallway, starring at her with surprised eyes.

"Eugene! Hi!" she called, but he was already walking into the Great Hall, his face an unusual shade of scarlet.

"What was that all about?" Jack asked behind her.

"I don't know," Rapunzel said, still starring after Eugene.

"Well, come on, I can smell the bacon from here!" said Jack, galloping ahead, his messy brown hair bouncing as he went.

She caught up to him again when she found him, Merida, and Hiccup sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table. She looked around, but couldn't see Eugene anywhere.

"Oy! What's got you looking so glum?" Merida asked Rapunzel as she sat down next to Jack.

"Um," Rapunzel stopped looking around the room for a moment. "Flying lessons," she said.

"What's so bad about tha'?" Merida went on, stuffing her face with sausage.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just nervous." Rapunzel said.

"Ah, don't worry about it!" Jack said, nudging her. "As long as you can brave potions, you can do a little flying!"

Rapunzel smiled. Jack always had a way of making her feel better. He was a good friend.

Just then, she spotted Eugene sitting over at the Slytherin table with some of the other first years. He had been watching her, and the moment he saw her looking at him he turned scarlet again and looked away. Had she done something to offend him? All that time up in her tower had left her a bit socially inept.

"Hey, are you gonna eat, or are you gonna make me eat all this food for you?" Merida said, grabbing another waffle.

The clouds had parted as the Ravenclaws headed off to potions a few hours later letting a few precious rays of sun fall down to earth for a while. Unfortunately, she was not to enjoy it as her class was heading in the direction of the dungeons.

"Potions class is in the dungeons?" Rapunzel asked Belle.

"I guess so," Belle replied.

Rapunzel imagined sitting on a cold stone floor, putting ingredients into cauldrons in large cages.

She barely even had the strength to descend the dark, grimy staircase that lead into the dungeons, but what choice did she have? She would get into trouble if she wasn't in class.

It was cold here, with barely anything to see. They turned a corner and walked through a doorway not far away from the entrance to the cage ridden cellar.

Rapunzel walked into a fairly large oval classroom with small work tables laid out across the room. There wasn't a whole lot there, besides a large stone basin filled with water that sat in the corner, and at the end of the room, a staircase on top of which stood, Rapunzel gulped, a very tall, almost unnaturally skinny old woman dressed from head to toe in purple who could only be described as scary beyond all reason.

"Good day," she said coldly. "I am professor Yzma. You may take your seats." She did not sound friendly at all.

Rapunzel sat down with Hiro just as the Slytherins came in.

"Ah, Slytherin! There you are. Takes your seats and then maybe we can finally begin." She sounded much more friendly with the Slytherins.

Jack gave her a quick wave and a goofy grin as he came in, making her giggle, but she hadn't a clue why.

They began the class by washing their hands and then started with a simple potion called the wide-eye potion that required, among other things, a clump of lavender, a quarter cup of flobberworm mucus (whatever that was) and three strange-looking toadstools that smelled vaguely of toenail fungus. So far Rapunzel did not like potions class, especially when professor Yzma kept getting upset with every mistake each student made.

She had been prowling along the desks when she spotted Tinkerbelle's potion which was in green flames.

"Well, I just thought, why add only one drop of Dragon's Blood when you can add in three and stay awake for hours?" Tink went on.

"Because you will ruin the entire potion and might as well kill someone!" Yzma nearly shouted.

Rapunzel listened to Yzma ramble on for a while about dragon's blood before she finally realized something. She raised her hand.

"Yes? What is it?" professor Yzma asked irritably.

"Excuse me, professor, but isn't Potions making just measuring out ingredients and mixing them together?" Rapunzel asked.

"If you wanted to explain it as stupidly simple as that, sure," Yzma said.

"So, then isn't Potions class basically home EC?" said Rapunzel.

Yzma starred blankly at her for a few moments before whipping around and saying, "Ten points from Gryffindor!"

"Points!?" Rapunzel repeated frantically. "But I didn't mean to be-"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor!" Yzma yelled spinning around.

"But…but-"

"Do you want me to make it fifty points?" Rapunzel shook her head slightly. "Then I suggest you be quiet!"

She didn't speak for the rest of the lesson if she could help it. Yzma kept making subtle remarks about her which made the Slytherins giggle which in turn made her feel awful.

Potions class was almost over when someone accidentally put the wrong ingredient into his cauldron and it exploded, scorching half of his face and leaving him sitting on the stone floor, clutching his face.

Professor Yzma took one look at it and then went off to get something from madam Pomfrey, the school nurse.

Rapunzel ran over to him as soon as Yzma had left. It was Eugene. She waited until most of the other students were standing by the table listening to another Slytherin, someone named Kuzco, go on about what Eugene had put into his cauldron to make it explode, before she grabbed hold of her massive braided hair and laid in on Eugene's burnt face.

"What are you doing?" she heard someone say. She thought it might be Jack.

She knew what she had to do. She began to recite, " _Flower gleam and_ -"

But she was cut short the moment someone grasped her arm and pulled her up. It was professor Yzma.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she asked menacingly.

"I was just-" but before Rapunzel really answered, Yzma threw her back onto the floor.

"Back to your seats!" she barked to the other students as she smothered some sort of elixir on Eugene's face. Once Rapunzel was back in her own seat, she had to peer around professor Yzma to see what was happening. The giant scorch mark on Eugene's face had virtually disappeared by the time professor Yzma was facing the class once more. Rapunzel caught both Eugene and Jack looking at her funny from across the room. In fact, everyone kept glancing at her when they got the chance. This was not how she had wanted this lesson to go.

Class ended soon after that, Rapunzel one of the first out the door. She didn't even wait when Jack called her name as they were leaving, she just walked as fast as she could to get out of the dungeons.

Rapunzel was glad to be out in the sun that afternoon. She was walking out onto a large, grass-covered courtyard where they were greeted by Hufflepuff and a tall kind-looking woman with light golden brown hair done up in a bun.

All the students were standing in two columns in front of two rows of broomsticks sprawled out on the grass. The kind woman was standing at the very end of the two rows.

"Welcome, Ravenclaw," the woman said softly. "I trust you found your way all right. I am Professor Clarion. I am delighted to have you here. Now please take your places at one side of a broomstick."

Everyone did as she said and awaited further instruction.

"Now hold your right hand over your broom and say, 'up'," Clarion instructed.

Rapunzel looked down at her broom laying at her feet. It didn't look like it would do anything if she said 'up'. Nonetheless she held out her hand as instructed and recited. Nothing happened. On the second try, she said 'up' much more firmly and the broomstick flew into her hand. She smiled, pleased with herself that she was able to do it on the second try.

Hiro's broom was slowly rising to him, and Tink already had hers.

She looked up at Hiccup who was standing right across from her. He was saying 'up' as frantically and as forcefully as he could, but his broom kept rolling around on the grass. Rapunzel stifled a giggle.

"Now once you have your broom I want you to mount it and grip it firmly," said Professor Clarion as Rapunzel looked down the isle to see her. She noticed that everyone else had there brooms except Hiccup.

"Up!" he kept saying. "UP!" but it went on rolling around.

"Oh, Mr. Haddok, please," said the professor as she came over to help.

"No, no I got it! UP!" said Hiccup again.

"Now, if I could just-"

"UP!"

This time, the broom flew up so abruptly it smacked the professor square in the face.

"That will do, Mr. Haddock," professor Clarion said, rubbing her nose and walking back to the end of the two rows. Hiccup was blushing profusely. "Now mount your brooms."

'Mount'? Did she mean sit on it?

Rapunzel tentatively put one leg over the broom handle and held it tight in her hands.

"Now, I want you to kick off from the ground hard, hover for a few moments and then slowly come back down." professor Clarion went on.

Rapunzel noticed, though, that Hiccup's feet weren't touching the ground. He was hovering just enough that the tips of his feet could barely touch the grass.

"Uh, Professor?" Hiccup said.

"Now what, Mr. Haddock?" she said looking down the line.

"Uh, p-professor Clarion!" Hiccup cried. He was started to soar above the students' heads!

"Mr. Haddok!" the professor called, but Hiccup was now so far up that there was hardly any chance of him hearing someone down here. He was suddenly flying over the entire school, circling them like a vulture, picking up speed.

He swerved around various statues barely missing them as he went, and spun uncontrollably at times.

He was now soaring fast back and fourth across the field looking quite sick.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Rapunzel thought she heard him say. Then the broom froze abruptly, launching Hiccup off of it face first.

Professor Clarion ran toward him as fast as she could, barely catching him when he came down, causing both of them to collapse in a heap of black robes.

Rapunzel watched them get up, Hiccup clutching his arm the entire time and making whimpering noises.

"Oh dear, what's wrong?" professor Clarion asked, her hair a mess. "Oh, it looks like a fractured arm. I'll have to take you to the hospital wing. Class!" she said standing up straight. "I am now going to take Mr. Haddok to the hospital wing. I will return shortly. No one is permitted to fly while I am gone,"

Rapunzel watched as Hiccup walked away into the castle. She had to do something. Her friend was injured and she had the power to heal him. It was her duty. She knew that now.


	7. Chapter 7 Incantation and Realization

Chapter 7

Incantation and Realization

All day Rapunzel kept thinking about Hiccup. She wanted to see him as soon as she could, but she never had the chance. Because their Flying lesson ran long, she only had ten minutes to eat lunch and then be off to the next subject.

As she sat through history of magic, she thought about skipping class, but what would everyone think? What was the punishment for such a thing? So she bided her time for the right opportunity.

Dinner came so fast she barely realized that the school day was over when the Ravenclaws were walking together toward the Great Hall. Perhaps this could be her chance to go see Hiccup.

Once the food was served and Rapunzel had something to eat, she got up from her seat and headed for the great oak doors, a little faster than she would normally, and checked over her shoulder uncomfortably. Her large braid was so heavy it almost hurt to do so, but she just felt terribly nervous. She was looking back mostly at the staff table to see if anyone was watching her. Professor McGonagall and Professor Bunny were in deep conversation, and Professor Yzma was staring lazily down at her plate. Then her eyes found Professor Dumbledore. He was wearing a purple robe with stars and moons on it, with a matching purple hat to boot, his eyes starring directly at her from behind his half-moon glasses that were perched on his crooked nose.

Something inside her jumped and she walked as fast as she could out of the Great Hall. She was walking so fast that she accidentally bumped into someone just outside the hall.

She looked up and saw a tall (well, tall in the sense that she was short at the time) scruffy-looking old man with disturbingly beady eyes. There was a frazzled tabby cat standing at his feet.

"And where are you going, first year?" he asked in a sort of growl.

Rapunzel gulped. The hospital wing and the common room where both in the general direction.

"The, uh, Ravenclaw common room," she squeaked. "I, uh, wanted to get a head start on my homework!" She gave an unconvincing smile.

The strange man grunted and little as she walked slowly around him and then made off at a run the moment she could. That had been close. She never wanted to see him again.

As she walked the ever darkening hallways, she came to realize something that her mother had failed to tell her: there were good and bad people in the world. Hiccup, Jack, Merida, Eugene, all of them. They had to be the nicest people she had ever met. And yet, there were still some bad people, but they were never as bad as mother had made them sound. Well, except for that man, whoever he was. But Professor Bunny, though his quarrel was mostly with Jack, was still very strict bordering on mean, but he wasn't savage, and certainly didn't have pointed teeth or want to steal her hair. Maybe mother was wrong?

All thought, however, was driven from her mind as soon as she came upon the torch-lit hall that led directly to the hospital wing. She started to walk very quietly, hoping that no one, especially Peeves, would appear out of nowhere and catch her.

She came up to the door, opening it ever so slightly so she could see inside to make sure no one was watching.

There was a lady in there, busying herself with all kinds of things that were unfamiliar to Rapunzel, and doing a bit of cleaning as she went. She could hear her muttering under her breathe, "First week back… already they feel the need to break every bone in their bodies… when did children become so irresponsible?"

After a little while she left and went into some kind of side room. Rapunzel could see Hiccup lying just four beds down. Apparently he had eaten an early dinner, then gone to bed. This was perfect. Now he would never know it her.

She opened the doors just enough to let her through without trying let it squeak, then tiptoed ever so carefully over to the bed. Hiccup was snoring softly. If she sang the incantation quietly, he might not wake up.

Very delicately, she placed the end of her braid on his injured leg, then she softly sang, "Flower gleam and glow… let your power shine… make the clock reverse… bring back what once was mine…. heal what has been hurt… change the fate-" she gasped. She had heard something fall over in that strange room that woman had entered and she nearly jumped ten feet in the air. Her heart pounding very fast she turned back to Hiccup. She had to hurry.

She watched as the last bit of light slithered away down her hair and then vanished. Surely that had been enough. His leg would be fully healed.

"R-Rapunzel?" Rapunzel jumped at the name, even though it was spoken more groggily than she had ever heard it. She looked around and then her eyes fell on Hiccup. He was looking right at her, his eyes half open. She ran as fast as she could to the door. "Rapunzel?" came her name again, slightly more awake and more quizzical than before.

She wrenched open the door, squeezed through it, and slammed the door behind her, panting slightly. She took a deep breathe and closed her eyes. But when she opened them, her stomach lurched and her eyes popped out of her head.

"P-Proffesor D-Dumb-bledore?" she sputtered suddenly sighting the headmaster standing right across the hall from her. "I'm so sorry!" she wailed suddenly. "Please don't expel me! I won't ever do it again!"

"My dear child!" said Dumbledore with a smile. "It is not illegal to visit people in the hospital wing!"

Rapunzel looked at him for a moment, with his broad grin and jolly apparel. How could she be so stupid? It wasn't past bedtime, everyone was still at dinner! She didn't have to be sneaking around this whole time at all!

"Oh," was all she could manage to say back. She just now realized that she was shaking with fright. Maybe she should have been placed in Gryffindor, then maybe she could learn to be brave.

"Now why don't you run back to dinner?" said Dumbledore. striding over to her. "Perhaps you can still have some desert? Oh, and do watch out for Filch this time,"

"Filch?" she repeated. "Is that who that old man was outside the Great Hall?"

"Yes. He's the groundskeeper. He's never been very fond of students. Well, off you pop," he said, smiling again.

Rapunzel felt much better now. As she walked back down the corridors she felt like skipping. That is until, she heard something rather peculiar ahead of her. It sounded like voices.

She followed the sound down a dark hallway and turned a corner only to immediately jump back behind the wall of the last corridor and peer around the corner at what was going on. There were two large boys bending over a smaller one. Rapunzel had to squint to make out who they were, but stifled a gasp when she realized that the small boy was Eugene. The other two, well they might as well be peeves pretending to be two people. She had never seen them before in her life. It was even hard to make out what they looked like in the moonlight.

"Come on, Rider!" said one of the boys gruffly. "Where is it?"

"I-I don't have it," said Eugene.

"Lier!" shouted the other boy grabbing Eugene's collar. "You were the only one there with us! Hand it over!"

"I don't have it anymore!" said Eugene more loudly.

"Well, you'd better have it real soon!"

"Yeah. We'll give you till the end of the month!"

"If we don't have the crown by then…"

"We'll have your head instead!"

They let go of him and then walked away slowly down the hall. When they were completely gone, Rapunzel dashed out from her hiding place at once.

"Eugene!" she cried softly. Eugene looked like he was about to run for it, but Rapunzel had him wrapped in a hug before he could think. "Are you all right?" she asked breathlessly.

"Rapunzel?" he asked.

"Yes, it's me. What did those two thugs want with you?"

"Oh, uh… they, um… I just owe them a bit of money, that's all," he said lamely.

"That was awful the way they treated you!" Rapunzel went on. "You should report them!"

"What? And then have every other Slytherin after me? No way!" Eugene said.

Rapunzel didn't know what else to say. Everything seemed to be wrapped up in that one sentence.

"Why were over there?" Eugene asked suddenly, tilting his head over to Rapunzel's hiding place. "Where you following me?"

"What?" Rapunzel said. "Oh, I um… wanted to go visit Hiccup in the hospital wing and on my way back I… sort of stumbled onto your conversation," She gave an attempt at a chuckle but if anything it only made the mood worse. They didn't say anything for a while. They just starred at each other's feet, too embarrassed as to why neither of them were at dinner to say anything. Rapunzel felt like Dumbledore was going to turn the corner any second and find out what Eugene had been up to, and she knew that would upset him. So she said quickly, "Why don't we head back up to the Great Hall. There must be some food left,"

"Yeah. Yeah dinner sounds good." Eugene said distractedly.

They began to walk together down the moonlit hall, no one breathing a word. They still did not speak even when they reentered the hall. They waved at each other and smiled weakly, but aside from that, they hadn't spoken that much at all.

Rapunzel sat back down at the Ravenclaw table to find that she was, indeed, just in time for desert.

She started helping herself to some treacle tart when she spotted two large, brute-like boys sitting together at the Slytherin table conversing with another young boy with a round nose, messy brown hair and very large hands. They looked almost identical, and where seated around the more generally considered third-year area of the table. She watched them for a time, just wishing that they would stop looking so brute-like.

Dinner ended soon, and everyone hurried up to their dormitories. Rapunzel was one of the last ones up, which didn't really say much as most of the Ravenclaws liked to get to bed on time if they could, but nevertheless, she was last to reach her dorm. She was still shaking a bit with some of the excitement of that night's happenings. She was getting much braver now, far more brave than she ever would have become under her mother's roof. She just wished there was something she could do about those two Slytherins.

The next day was Saturday, everyone was out and about enjoying the early fall sunshine, and Hiccup was out of the hospital wing. He, Rapunzel, Merida, and Jack were walked across the grounds talking together. There was something about Hiccup that day, too. A certain spring in his step, a sort of glow around him.

"But why did Madam Pomfrey want you ter' stey over night?" Merida asked Hiccup.

"Well, she fixed my leg almost at once, but she didn't want me to get it hurt again, so she made me stay there under her supervision, just for one night, so that she was sure that it was healed completely. And I gotta say, I feel great!" said Hiccup with a broad smile.

Rapunzel frowned at this at first. The school nurse had fixed his leg already? So she wasn't responsible for his leg working again? She let out a sigh which was barely noticed as the others conversed.

"Aye, he does seem a wee bit too chipper for eh healed leg," said Merida.

"Are you sure you didn't accidentally take a euphoria potion instead of a healing elixir?" Jack asked. They all laughed, even Rapunzel.

"Or meybe, he just needs to not crash his broom on the ferst dey!" Merida laughed.

"I can't help it, I'm just a bit clumsy," said Hiccup, his smile fading away for a second. "But you know, it's the strangest thing. When I was in the hospital wing after dinner, I had a really weird dream." Rapunzel was listening carefully now. "I dreamt I saw a glowing haystack beside my bed that ran out the door,"

Everyone laughed, especially Rapunzel. She had no idea that to a half asleep person she bore the resemblance of a walking haystack.

They kept on walking together for a time talking about all the homework they had, showing each other their wands and telling everyone about their own crazy life outside of Hogwarts.

Merida had three little brothers at home each of them apparently more troublesome than the last, even though they were only about six years old.

Jack came from a pureblood family in Europe. He was the first in his family to be accepted at Hogwarts. Apparently, his family had been homeschooling their children for generations, never quite reaching Hogwarts level.

He also had a younger sibling at home: Flee, his little sister. She was nine. He spoke very fondly of her.

Hiccup was convinced that he was a muggle born. After all, his family had no records of any magic blood. Then again, he had mentioned something about his mother possibly being a witch, but said that he never had the chance to meet her. Something about a dragon.

When it eventually came time for Rapunzel to say something about her home, she hesitated. But eventually said, "I live with my mother. I never met my father, and I don't know weather I'm a pureblood, or moogle born, or whatever,"

"Muggle," Jack corrected.

Not much was further stated on the matter and they went on talking about someone named Stoick the Vast. She wasn't listening, though. She was thinking about an idea she had just had about how she could really help the school.


	8. Chapter 8 Quidditch Rivalry

Chapter 8

Quidditch Rivalry

The next few weeks Rapunzel snuck out of bed whenever she heard that someone had been injured or hexed and went down to the hospital wing to heal them when Madam Pomfrey wasn't looking. Usually any injuries reported came from students playing Quidditch, an unusual wizard game that Rapunzel had heard Jack go on about profusely.

Every morning after Rapunzel had healed somebody, Madam Pomfrey was positively baffled and the news that there was some sort of spirit healing people spread around the castle like wildfire. Rapunzel most loved it when she sat at Ravenclaw table and listened to all the gabble that occurred regularly now. She couldn't help but smile secretly when it happened, especially when the other students began spreading rumors of angels or fairies coming to the castle at night.

It was very difficult to hide her elation around her friends, however, and one Sunday evening when they were all talking, the subject of the mysterious healing came up. She blushed so fiercely that Merida literally stopped and starred at her.

"What?" Rapunzel asked quickly, her smile fading instantly.

"What are you so pleased abou'?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Nothing," she said simply. Jack and Hiccup seemed only to pause and think about this for a moment before going back to their original goofy grins and laid back posture.

"Do ye happen teh know who's healn' people?" Merida asked as they started walking again.

"No," said Rapunzel. Merida remained quite skeptical.

After that, Merida always kept eyeing her when they were together, asking subtle questions about the strange phenomenon, and trying to watch wherever Rapunzel went, but couldn't pin it on her more than any other student. After all, who would suspect sweet little Rapunzel?

A great deal of excitement sprung up in the school when the first Quidditch game of the season was announced, the first match being between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Jack and Merida were toe to toe the day of the match. Neither of them could play, of course, due to the fact that neither of them were allowed a broom as a first year, and thus could not participate. But they were wasting no effort in supporting their house teams.

Jack came down to breakfast that day wearing his Slytherin scarf, carrying a Slytherin pennant, and with two green S's painted on either one of his cheeks. He sat down at the Hufflepuff table beside Rapunzel (they all sat there now as Hufflepuff gave them the least amount of strange looks) and poured out all the enthusiasm he had been building up for weeks.

Hiccup arrived just a few minutes before Merida, but when she came, all three of their jaws dropped. Merida was dressed head to toe in scarlet and gold robes (her flaming orange hair that exploded everywhere sufficing as a lion's mane) and having one half of her face painted entirely gold, the other all scarlet. Small, red letter G's were dangling from her ears.

She strode into the Great Hall looking very pleased with herself, and a wide smile spread across her face the moment she saw Jack's shocked expression.

"What do yeh think of meh new look, Jack?" she asked slyly as she sat down. Jack appeared speechless, opening and closing his mouth several times before deciding that there was nothing to say. Rapunzel, Hiccup and Merida all grinned, some stifling laughs, Jack finally giving into a small grin in the corner of his mouth.

There was an uneasy, yet strangely fun air that hung over them the remainder of breakfast. Merida and Jack were still undeniably at odds with each other, but there was still that sense that everybody knew that this was the silliest thing they had ever seen.

"You'd better hurry, Merida, or you'll miss Gryffindor getting beaten!" Jack said suddenly, rising from the table.

"Not likely!" Merida called after him, getting up herself and walking out with him.

"I don't wanna miss this," said Hiccup, grinning. He and Rapunzel both got up and hurried after the other two.

They walked outside to find a slightly sunny, but quite windy day surrounding the castle. They followed the crowd to the Quidditch pitch, catching up with Jack and Merida (they were not too hard to spot) and then seated themselves comfortably in the stands. There were quite a few stares directed at Jack and Merida, but they didn't care. They were far too wrapped up in their excited cheering to notice. When Merida whipped out a large paper sign that read 'GO GRYFFINDOR!' in bright red paint, the stares jumps a few faces.

Rapunzel looked down suddenly as the Gryffindor Quidditch team marched out onto the turf accompanied by Merida's shriek-like cheers. Then the Slytherin team strutted out onto the pitch and Jack could be heard bellowing his approval in a load sea of 'YEEEAAAHHH!'s and 'SLYTHERIN!'s erupting from all around.

Both teams marched up to professor Clarion and then she made them shake hands. She picked up a whistle, then when she blew it, four strange balls flew out of a large rectangular box that sat on the ground in front of the professor. One she through, it was perhaps the biggest ball, but in the blur of colors that were the Quidditch teams, it was hard to tell.

Two other balls went flying through the air looking as though they were going to kill someone upon impact, and the final ball Rapunzel barely realized was there before it whizzed out of sight. It was very small and she caught a fleeting glimpse of gold light as it disappeared.

"And they're off!" yelled an announcer who sounded as if he was a student himself. "And it's Gryffindor with the quaffle!"

"Quaffle?" Rapunzel repeated to Merida.

"It's the red ball that Professor Clarion through inter the air. Tha's the ball you have teh throw through one of those three hoops teh score eh goal!" Merida answered over the screaming crowd.

"Marcus Flint, captain of the Slytherin team steals the quaffle!" the announcer went on. (Jack shouted his approval) "Riley Anderson of Gryffindor attempts to steal the quaffle, but-Oh! Get's hit in the back with a bludger for her trouble! Flint's coming up the field now, he's making his move—COME ON ALADDIN! DEFEND THE GOAL! Ah! And that's ten points for Slytherin,"

Jack and his fellow Slytherins drowned out all other sounds save for their own cheers. Rapunzel had to cover her ears. A moment later, Jack had started a Slytherin wave all around the field. He gave a sly smile to Merida, who in turn, when Gryffindor next scored, pulled out her wand and shot red sparks into the air. All the Gryffindors roared their cheers of approval and shot off sparks as well. Rapunzel thought she was going to go def.

"And we're off again! It's Riley Anderson with the quaffle! She's coming up the field again, and- OH! It's a steal from Marcus Flint! He passes to Drizella Tramain who- WOAH! Ow! Drizella's just taken a bludger to head and has been ushered off the field. All right, and it's Grffindor with the quaf…"

The rest of the announcer's words trailed off as Rapunzel watched, horrified, as the player called Drizella was taken off the field, unmoving. The cheers from the crowd around her started to blur as she made her way through the flying hands, gold and scarlet, and silver and green banners flying everywhere, and towards the stairs. She kept her eyes fixed on the tent they had taken Drizella into.

Once on the ground again, she had to sneak her way into the back of the tent where she hid behind a fold in the canvas. She strained to hear what was being said by the doctors.

"No, no, she'll be all right, this happens all the time. She'll be back on her feet in a week," said a woman. Most likely Madam Pomfrey.

"You're sure? A bludger to the head seems kind of extreme," A boy was speaking now. He sounded familiar.

"I'm sure. Come, now. You go and watch the rest of the game, there's nothing to worry about." They both left. Rapunzel was left alone with the girl.

She peeked around her corner. Now was her chance. Careful not to make a sound, she raced over to Drizella. She hastily jerked her massive braid forward and laid it on her head.

" _Flower, gleam and glow…"_ she paused as she heard a scuffle of feet outside. " _Let your power shine…_ "

"Hold on, I think I left my scarf in there,"

" _Save what has been lost… Bring back what once was mine… What once was mine…"_

"Rapunzel?"

Rapunzel whipped around suddenly. Eugene was standing right behind her, mouth wide open, clutching a green and silver scarf.

Drizella, on the table behind her, started to stir. She didn't know what else to do. She bolted for the back of the tent, Eugene calling after her. She could hear his footsteps just a few feet away.

She ducked under the tent fabric, and shoved past dozens of cloaked students, all oblivious to what was happening.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel, come back!"

"No! No!" Rapunzel muttered under her breathe. Her first thought was simply getting away from the quidditch pitch, but then she'd be in the middle of a large field, and highly exposed. Her only hope was Ravenclaw common room. She bolted for the castle, but barely made it up the first steps when Eugene caught up to her.

"Rapunzel, stop running! What's going on here?! What were you doing with Drizella? And why does your hair glow?!" Eugene shrieked, his voice cracking slightly.

Rapunzel turned away and tried to get in from another entrance. The front gate was always open during the day.

Across the school grounds she ran, doging gardens and statues until she made it to the castle's great oak doors. She squeezed between them, not waiting for them open all the way, and ran passed the great hall, passed classrooms, up stairs, until she paused for just a moment to catch her breathe. Then a hand grasped her shoulder. For the briefest of moments she feared it was her mother, finally caught her at last, but when she was whirled around she came face to face with Eugene.

"No more running! Now tell me what is going on!" he demanded.

Rapunzel stood for a moment, shaking slightly. Nothing this extreme had ever happened to her before. This whole time she had been holding back tears of fear, but now they all came spilling out. Eugene, very taken aback by this, released her immediately and watched as she slunk away and tried uselessly to dry her tears.

"What's going on?" he asked, a bit more gently. But no matter how hard she tried, Rapunzel couldn't seem to form a word in her mouth that wasn't immediately drowned out by her sobs. She was on the floor, now, supported by the stone castle wall.

Eugene slowly sat down next to her. He tentatively reached out a hand, pulling back a few times, but ultimately resting it on her shoulder.

His hand felt good, and comforting. It allowed her to stop crying long enough for her to form an answer.

"You saw me in there? Wi-with Drizella?" she asked through sharp intakes of breathe. Eugene nodded. "Well, you might as well know, now. All those rumors about fairies and spirits coming into the castle and healing people? I'm the one who's really been doing it." As she spoke she began to feel calmer. "My hair is… I was born with magic hair that can heal people when I sing. I've never told anyone before, because… well… my mother always told me that people in the world would want to steal it for their own. She said they would try to cut it. But when you cut it, it turns brown and loses its power. So I was kept away from the world until… until I got my Hogwarts letter." As she finished speaking, a strange look befell Eugene's face. It was somewhere between shock and understanding. As she waited for his response, she felt as if she might cry again. She had just told someone her greatest secret. "Please promise me you won't tell anyone!" she begged.

Eugene seemed to consider this very hard. He swallowed and then said, "I owe more than just money to those two brutes you saw me with, a few nights ago. We were a team of thieves, who stole a crown from the royal family in Corona. I double crossed them, and now they're after me unless I give them what they want."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Rapunzel asked.

Eugene sighed. "I know your secret, now you know mine. We're square, and I'll promise not to tell if you promise not to," he explained.

"Of course, Eugene. I would never dream of telling anyone," Rapunzel said weakly.

"Yeah, that's what everyone says. But I'm warning you, if you do tell, I'll send half of Slytherin after you!"

"No! Of course not! I promise," Eugene looked skeptically at her. "and I've never broken a promise. You can take my word for it." Reluctantly, Eugene held out his hand and they both shook. "Now, about those two Slytherins,"

"You leave those two to me. You don't need to get tangled up with my problems." (Get it? Tangled? Okay, I'll stop. Back to the story) Eugene said glumly.

"No way! I'm going to help you no matter what it costs! You're my friend," Rapunzel said firmly.

Eugene looked slowly up to her. "Really?" he said almost in a whisper. "You'd really consider me a friend?"

"Well, of course! Actually," Rapunzel blushed. "You're the first real friend I've ever had,"

Eugene chuckled. "Really?" She nodded. "Well, um… you're my first real friend too,"

"Do really mean it?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yeah. Unless you count the Stabbington brothers," Eugene said.

They both gave small chuckles that felt barely alive in their throats. The gravitas of the situation stifled what little laughter there was, but then slowly melted away into something Rapunzel had never felt before; it was a slow, tingling sensation of growing feelings for this rugged, goofy-grinned, boy that sat next to her now, although Rapunzel was far too young (and far too sheltered) to even know what love was. She enjoyed it, nonetheless, this strange new feeling that seemed to bubble up inside her. It felt comforting and exciting all at once.

For what felt like hours they sat there telling one another about themselves. Rapunzel revealed just how sheltered her mother had kept her for all those years, and Eugene admitted about himself more than Rapunzel had ever thought possible. However, her brow furrowed as he explained how he had actually grown up in an orphanage and ran away to join the Stabbington brothers on their quest for money and power. But the more he explained, the more she realized how different he sounded now.

Perhaps after this, she could invite him to live with her in her tower and they could be like brother and sister.

He also explained more about the crown he had taken from the twins. He had evidently lost it on his trip to Hogwarts. Rapunzel promised that she would help look for it. After all, they had come to Hogwarts together. Perhaps it had gotten lost in both their luggage, or been misplaced at the Leaky Cauldron.

Suddenly, groups of people flocked into the castle, the quidditch match having most likely ended, and Eugene and Rapunzel left one another to go and find their friends and ask them how the game had gone.

Little did Rapunzel realize, but that one event, those few precious moments she had shared with Eugene, would change the course of her life forever, and bring together two of the most unlikely of friends.


	9. Chapter 9 Pursuit

Chapter 9

Pursuit

Mother Gothel paced the floor of her tower, golden sunlight shining through the nearby window, reminding her of her precious flower. She had to make it Hogwarts, and fast. The only problem was that she had no means of finding it, or getting to it.

She thought perhaps that she could snatch a broom from a witch or wizard and fly there, but that still didn't fix the problem of where to find Hogwarts.

Her next idea was to head to the train station and follow the railroad tracks on her stallion, but that would risk her being discovered and would take perhaps two days on horseback. And yet, it sounded the most plausible of any idea she could conjure up. Besides, now that she thought of it, she could still avoid being seen if she-

Mother Gothel paused as she spotted something lying on the floor; something that didn't belong there.

A brown, quite weathered, satchel sat before her in a heap, a bit of glinting gold reflecting the light of the sun where it sat.

She crossed the room swiftly and scooped up the curious bag. She reached in and pulled out a beautiful, gold tiara laden with diamonds and rubies. This belonged to the crown princess of Corona who disappeared many years ago. The same princess who resided with Mother Gothel for eleven years; Rapunzel. But she could never know that. If somehow she made it back to the king and queen of the kingdom, all hope would be lost of her ever being youthful again.

Just as she was about to put the crown back, she spotted something else. A crinkled bit of parchment just barely stuck out into the light. She grabbed it and unrolled what evidently was a wanted poster. The picture was of a young boy, perhaps Rapunzel's age, called Flynn Rider. It read:

Wanted: Flynn Rider. If found, please bring to Sphen's Orphanage immediately.

'An orphan boy?" thought Gothel. Could that be who this satchel belonged to? That could be a very useful card to play if she ever needed to. She thought for a moment. She had only a matter of months before she was certain Rapunzel would begin to suspect the truth. She had to act, and perhaps this boy, this 'Flynn Rider' was the key.

She ran to her room and grabbed clothes, food, and her mother's silver dagger. Rapunzel was coming with her no matter what.

Her bag packed, she raced down the stairs and mounted the royal stallion she had tethered to the base of the tower. She set out for Hogwarts and Rapunzel, satchel in-hand.

She stopped in London, then snuck to the secret train tracks behind King's Cross station. She began her journey across the British countryside and nothing was going to detour her from her goal.


End file.
